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He Who has the Spirit by nature has bestowed, as God, the energies of the Spirit. For the Word, having become man for my sake, for my sake also accomplishes the whole of salvation; giving me in exchange through my own things those things that are His by nature; for whom He also became man; and as receiving for my sake, He makes a manifestation of His own things; and as the lover of mankind, He reckons my grace to Himself; while ascribing to me His own natural power of achievements; for whom He is now also said to receive what is His by nature without beginning and beyond reason. For just as the Holy Spirit exists by nature in substance of God the Father, so also is He by nature in substance of the Son, as proceeding ineffably from the Father in substance, through the begotten Son; and bestowing His own energies like lamps upon the lampstand, that is, the Church. For in the manner of a lamp dispelling the darkness, every energy of the Spirit is by nature suited to expel and drive out from the Church the manifold generation of sin. For wisdom brings about the destruction of folly; understanding, the removal of lack of recognition; counsel, the abolition of indiscrimination; strength, the driving out of weakness; knowledge, the annihilation of ignorance; piety, the persecution of impiety and the wickedness of the energies based upon it; and fear drives away the hardness of contempt. For not only the commandments, but also the energies of the Spirit are light.

(673) Again, lamps are those who, throughout their whole life, signal the light of salvation through the Church, and the ranks that complete the good order within it. For example, the wise teacher of divine and lofty dogmas and mysteries is a lamp, uncovering things previously unseen by the many. The one who listens with understanding and knowledge to the wisdom spoken among the perfect is another lamp, as an intelligent hearer, guarding within himself the light of the truth of what is spoken. And the one who with counsel discerns the opportune times for things, and devises the appropriate ways for words, and does not allow them to fall into each other unsuitably and be confused, this one too, as a wonderful counselor, is shown to be another lamp. And the one who bears the assaults of involuntary temptations with an unshakeable mind, like the blessed Job and the noble martyrs, is a strong lamp, himself also keeping unquenched the light of salvation, which is preserved in the manner of manly endurance, as having the Lord as strength and praise. And the one who knows the devices of the evil one, and is not ignorant of the entanglements of unseen wars; this one too, being illumined by the light of knowledge, is by nature another lamp, aptly uttering with the great Apostle: For we are not ignorant of his designs. And the one who piously confirms by his ways the life according to the commandment. And the one who, in expectation of the judgment, has walled off the entrance of the passions to the soul through self-control, has become another lamp; diligently cleansing through the fear of God the stains of the passions inflicted upon him; and by the rejection of unnatural defilements, making his life transparent and bright.

The Holy Spirit, therefore, effects purification for those worthy of the purity of the virtues through fear and piety and knowledge; and illumination, the knowledge of beings according to the principles by which they exist, He grants through strength, and counsel, and understanding to those worthy of light; and perfection, through the all-radiant and simple and complete wisdom, He bestows on those worthy of deification, leading them without intermediary to the cause of beings in every way, as is possible for a human, being made known only from the divine properties of goodness; according to which they know themselves from God, and God from themselves, there being no intermediary walling them off; for there is no intermediary between wisdom and God; they will have immutable unchangeability, since all intermediaries have been completely traversed for them, in which there was the one concerning

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δεδώρηται ὁ κατά φύσιν ἔχων τό Πνεῦμα, τάς ἐνεργείας τοῦ Πνεύματος, ὡς Θεός. Ἐμοί γάρ ὁ Λόγος γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος, ἐμοί καί τήν ὅλην πραγματεύεται σωτηρίαν· διά τῶν ἐμῶν ἐμοί τά οἰκεῖα αὐτῷ κατά φύσιν ἀντιδούς· δι᾿ ὅν καί ἄνθρωπος γέγονε· καί ὡς λαμβάνων δι᾿ ἐμέ, ποιεῖται τῶν οἰκείων τήν ἔκφανσιν· καί ἑαυτῷ μέν τήν ἐμήν ὡς φιλάνθρωπος λογιζόμενος χάριν· ἐμοί δέ τήν οἰκείαν αὐτοῦ κατά φύσιν κατορθωμάτων ἐπιγραφόμενος δύναμιν· δι᾿ ὅν καί νῦν λαμβάνειν λέγεται, τό φύσει προσόν ἀνάρχως καί ὑπέρ λόγον. Τό γάρ Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον ὥσπερ φύσει κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ὑπάρχει τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατρός, οὕτως καί τοῦ Υἱοῦ φύσει κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ἐστίν, ὡς ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός οὐσιωδῶς, δι' Υἱοῦ γεννηθέντος, ἀφράστως ἐκπορευόμενον· καί τῇ λυχνίᾳ, τουτέστι τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ, καθάπερ λύχνους τάς οἰκείας ἐνεργείας δωρούμενον. Λύχνου γάρ τρόπον τό σκότος λύοντος, πᾶσα τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐνέργεια τήν πολύτροπον γένεσιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐξωθεῖσθαι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας καί ἐπελαύνειν πέφυκε. Ποιεῖται γάρ ἡ μέν σοφία, τῆς ἀνοίας ἀναίρεσιν· ἡ δέ σύνεσις, τῆς ἀνεπιγνωμοσύνης ἀφαίρεσιν· ἡ δέ βουλή, τῆς ἀδιακρισίας κατάργησιν· ἡ δέ ἰσχύς, τῆς ἀσθενείας ἐξήλωσιν· ἡ δέ γνῶσις, τῆς ἀγνωσίας ἀφανισμόν· ἡ δέ εὐσέβεια, τῆς ἀσεβείας, καί τῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτῆ τῶν ἐνεργειῶν φαυλότητος διωγμόν· ὁ δέ φόβος, τῆς καταφρονήσεως ἀπελαύνει τήν πώρωσιν. Φῶς γάρ οὐ μόνον τά προστάγματα, ἀλλά καί τά ἐνεργήματα τυγχάνει τοῦ Πνεύματος.

(673) Λύχνοι δέ πάλιν τυγχάνουσι, παντί τῷ βίῳ διά τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τό φῶς τῆς σωτηρίας πυρσεύοντες, καί οἱ συμπληροῦντες βαθμοί τήν κατ᾿ αὐτήν εὐκοσμία. Οἶον, ὁ σοφός τῶν θείων καί ὑψηλῶν δογμάτων καί μυστηρίων διδάσκαλος, λύχνος ἐστίν, ἐκκαλύπτων τά τέως τοῖς πολλοῖς μή φαινόμενα. Ὁ μετά συνέσεως καί ἐπιστήμης κατακούων τῆς ἐν τοῖς τελείοις λαλουμένης σοφίας, ἄλλος ὑπάρχει λύχνος, ὡς συνετός ἀκροατής, φυλάττων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τῆς τῶν λαλουμένων ἀληθείας τό φῶς. Ὁ δέ μετά βουλῆς διακρίνων ἁρμοδίους τοῖς πράγμασι τούς καιρούς, καί τοῖς λόγοις τούς ἐπιβάλλοντας τρόπους ἐπινοῶν, καί μή συγχωρῶν ἀλλήλοις ἀπροσφόρως ἐμπεσόντας συγχεῖσθαι, καί οὗτος ὡς θαυμαστός σύμβουλος, ἄλλος ὑπάρχων δέδεικται λύχνος. Ὁ δέ τάς προσβολάς τῶν ἀκουσίων πειρασμῶν, κατά τόν μακάριον Ἰώβ καί τούς γενναίους μάρτυρας, ἀκατασείστῳ φέρων τῷ φρονήματι, λύχνος ἐστίν ἰσχυρός, ἀκατάσβεστον καί αὐτός φυλάττων τό φῶς τῆς σωτηρίας, ἐν τῷ τρόπῳ τῆς κατ᾿ ἀνδρείαν ὑπομονῆς φυλαττόμενον, ὡς τόν Κύριον ἰσχύν ἔχων καί ὕμνησιν. Ὁ δέ γινώσκων τοῦ πονηροῦ τά μηχανήματα, καί τάς συπλοκάς τῶν ἀφανῶν πολέμων οὐκ ἀγνοῶν· καί οὗτος τῷ φωτί τῆς γνώσεως περιλαμπόμενος, ἄλλος πέφυκε λύχνος, τῷ μεγάλῳ Ἀποστόλῳ προσηκόντως φθεγγόμενος· Οὐ γάρ αὐτοῦ τά νοήματα ἀγνοοῦμεν. Ὁ δέ τόν κατ᾿ ἐντολήν βίον εὐσεβῶς τοῖς τρόποις πιστούμενος. Ὁ δέ τῇ προσδοκίᾳ τῆς κρίσεως, τοῖς πάθεσι πρός τήν ψυχήν δι᾿ ἐγκρατείας ἀποτειχίσας τήν εἴσοδον, ἄλλος γέγονε λύχνος· διά σπουδῆς τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ τάς ἐπιτριβείσας αὐτῷ τῶν παθῶν κηλῖδας ἐκκαθαιρόμενος· καί τήν τῶν παρά φύσιν ἀποβολῇ μολυσμῶν, διαυγῆ καί λαμπρόν τόν βίον ποιούμενος.

Τήν μέν οὖν κάθαρσιν τοῖς ἀξίοις τῆς τῶν ἀρετῶν καθαρότητος, διά φόβου καί εὐσεβείας καί γνώσεως ποιεῖται τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον· τόν δέ φωτισμόν, τῆς τῶν ὄντων καθ᾿ οὕς ὑπάρχουσι λόγους γνώσεως, δι᾿ ἰσχύος, καί βουλῆς, καί συνέσεως δωρεῖται τοῖς ἀξίοις φωτός· τήν δέ τελειότητα, διά τῆς παμφαοῦς καί ἁπλῆς καί ὁλοσχεροῦς σοφίας χαρίζεται τοῖς ἀξίοις θεώσεως, πρός τήν τῶν ὄντων αἰτίαν ἀναμέσως αὐτούς ἀνάγων κατά πάντα τρόπον, ὡς ἔστιν ἀνθρώπῳ δυνατόν, ἐκ μόνων τῶν θείων τῆς ἀγαθότητος ἰδιωμάτων γνωριζομένους· καθ᾿ ἥν ἐκ Θεοῦ μέν ἑαυτούς· ἐξ ἑαυτῶν δέ γινώσκοντες τόν Θεόν, οὐκ ὄντος τινός μέσου τοῦ διατειχίζοντος· σοφίας γάρ πρός Θεόν μέσον οὐδέν· τήν ἀναλλοίωτον ἕξουσιν ἀτρεψίαν, τῶν μέσων αὐτοῖς πάντων ὁλικῶς διαβαθέντων, ἐν οἷς ὑπῆρχεν ὁ περί